Unexpected
by foggySnowDay
Summary: Iderdex is hiding more than we thought. Nim's species is only the beginning of what Alger Koastler has in program for the world... and Miles is the exact center of it all. With a tsunami heading his way and big changes already begun in his life, Miles will have to face a whole new world and the long lost side of himself he still doesn't remember...
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I -sadly- do NOT own any of the original characters nor anything that belongs to Surface's creators.

* * *

 _Confusion._

For a brief moment was the only thing he could actually feel.

And then the thoughts started to fill his emptied mind like a hurricane stroke against a helpless island.

 _Little sea creatures following him underwater... bright lights glowing in the dephts below his feet... the pleasant feeling of the water rushing past him at every stroke... tiny bubbles escaping his lips while the last trace of air abandoned his lungs..._

 _And the whispers._

 _lots of powerful, strange and annoying whispers brushing at the bottom of his mind._

 _Swim._

 _Hunt._

 _Eat._

 _Come with us, they told him._

 _And the instinct to follow them, an instinct stronger than anything he had ever felt, even stronger than his own will._..

Miles was still swimming when he managed to burst out of his confusion.

His heart was pounding in his ears and electricity strongly pushed its way through his nerves when he realized his body had just followed a path in auto-pilot while his mind had allowed those powerful thoughts to trick him once more into following them toward the ocean depths.

The slow humming of the ferry still ringed in the thick atmosphere around him. He was a few feet below the surface, it was dark, but there was still enough light to let him see clearly through the seemingly nothingness spreading out in apparently every direction

That situation -the fact he was actually staying in that particular kind of gloomy darkness, the murky darkness of the underwater world, while in the meantime he could still breathe- should have scared him... as should have done the strange voices that weren't actually voices but that he could somehow understand.

And for an instant he had felt scared: what he was doing, the place where he was standing... what it was risking to be like if he'd loose focus again... were all more than good reasons to be scared.

Back then, the strange night his memories had brought him just a few seconds earlier - the night he managed to lead those creatures away from Compton Marsh - his mind had completely blacked-out. He could only remember confused feelings, confused fragments of places and events... but the constant presence of the thoughts he was hearing even now was persistent in every single one of those memories, as clear and vivid as the world outside his traumatized mind.

That night they had somehow suppressed his identity, making him do and think whatever was what they wanted... and what had happened then could have happened again if he hadn't managed to burst out into reality as he did.

Their voice -was that even the right definition?- was still there, looming in the darkness, waiting for something... or _someone._

Yes, for a moment he had felt scared. Because, even if he had loved the idea of having an instinct helping him surve underwater, he hadn't loved at all waking up on a beach without the slightest idea of when or how he had gotten there in the first place. And he was almost sure this had been the result of those thoughts' doing, those same thoughts trying to control him even now.

The only difference was that this time he had a more than good reason to don't let them take over: he needed to reach _her,_ to know she was alright... because time was running short.

Miles didn't know -again- how he was doing it, why he was so sure about the way he was heading being the right one to follow. That, in an ordinary basis should have terrorized him of course, but with all the things his mind had already been processing, the only feelings he allowed hiself to feel were the pleasure of the gusts of water brushing against his skin and the constant fury that kept him focused on his destination.

And, speaking of that... as strange as it sounded, it was like he was drawn there by a magnetic force, like his own body was a sort of compass knowing were the north was -in that case his house- without needing a map to find it.

He didn't need to concentrate -well, excluding of course the concentration he was already spending in fighting the thoughts' nuisance- but he simply let his body do its thing automatically... and for now he decided it was fine not to ask how or why it was even possible.

The strange magnetic string he had started to feel since his contact with the water faltered too at the sound of the other ones calling from further away. Their call was so powerful... even the thin line guiding him, despite its apparently better experience, squinted at their insistence... but the bond between him and that string was way more powerful and familiar than their presence and for now it was more than enough for him to focus.

However Miles knew that if that string surrendered, nothing else would have given him the strength to fight them.

Anyhow, now that he was closer, he was finally able to think straighter.

A familiar shape started to grow out of the darkness and after a few more strokes he even started to recognize it: wooden pillars supporting a flat structure... also known as the pier behind his house. He could even see the underside of his parent's little boat from were he was swimming now.

His heart leaped with joy and anxiety.

 _Finally,_ he thought.

He surfaced quietly, climbing out of the water without noticing the fact he had just swam all the way from the other side of the island without breaking a sweat nor even bithering about the fact it hadn't exactly been air the substance from were he had taken all the oxygen he needed in the process.

Only a strange tingle in his air-ways reminded him that maybe there was something strange happenung there, but he couldn't have lingered on the thought even if caring: in fact, now that he was there, now that he was out of the water and it couldn't lull him anymore, all the danger of the situation fell on his shoulders like a mountain. A wave of pain and fear made his cheeks flare up in frustration. He was home, were her was seen the last time... but was she really still there?

This fear almost made him freeze in panic... but then something helped him pulling himself togetger: his determination.

Finding her was more important, even more important than the tsunami dangerously heading his way.

He could almost feel it in the breeze and between the thin lines of air brushing against his wet skin. It felt like danger and his survival instinct slowly buzzing into life only gave him another reason to convince himself he had to move.

Without hesitation he walked past the wooden pier.

《Caitlin!》 He cried starting to run.

He was in the lounge now. The TV was still on, flashing news of the tsunami like his family had left it, while a reporter was announcing that the wave was about to hit the city in 22 minutes.

That made him feel even worse: he had to find her and only then they had to reach a shelter... and he wasn't so sure if they still had the time for both.

A familiar presence pulled at the bottom of his mind, reminding him of the little help he had during his swim. Like a faint buzz in his ears, it made him aware that his friend was really close... actually, in the same room he was now in.

《Nim》 he whispered turning left. Said creature glanced at him, purred in greeting and then raced toward the door.

In the boy's mind, the word-less sentence "follow me" was clearer than anything else. Without thinking about it twice, he obeyed running straight behind his friend, who was clearly heading toward the garage.

《Caitlyn!》 he called while running, only to freeze on the spot at the sight of a familiar something abandoned on the floor: a helmet. _Her_ grey helmet.

A wave of rage and fear pierced his heart while he inspected it. If that boy with the black sweater hadn't stolen his scooter in the first plavr, she wouldn't have been in danger . She would've been at the ferry with him and all the people they cared about, heading for safety, instead of being stuck there with a giant wave on its way to hit the coast.

 _Where are you?_

Again, he started to run.

heading for the street, right behind his scaly friend. His heart pounded painfully in his ears, while panic starting to take over his lucid sense... was she alright? Had she already left searching for a shelter? What would have happened if she was in danger and he couldn't find her in time?

The more he thought about it, the more his nervousness grew with familiar electricity. Plus, making the situation even more distressing, his surviving instinct had fully kicked on, urging him to rather save himself and making even more difficult maintaining his self control.

But somehow, he managed to pull all that aside.

He was there now and he would find her. No other options.

《Caitlin!》 he called for what seemed like the hundredth time. He was following the path in front of his house and Nim was at the other end waiting for him. But as the boy was about to turn the corner...

《Caitlin?!》

The girl was lying on the grass, unconscious, while Nim had just halted and was sniffing at her.

Miles petrified on the spot, his gaze filled with terror. What had happened to her? Why was she like this?

The boy at the ferry's words ringed instantly in his brain.

I've only took her machine, dude, that's all

And what did that mean, then? Why was Caitlin in that state?

Was she...

He dind't want to think about it, instead he forced himself to move, even if his heart menaced to leap out of his chest.

Esitantly, he finally leaned beside her and -so pale he seemed ready to pass out at any moment- he took all his courage and tried to understand if she was still alive... or not.

《Caitlin?》 he whispered, gently placing a hand over her right shoulder.

She was still breathing... and that was enough for him to collect more courage.

《Caitlin! Wake up! he gently touched her cheek 《C'mon Caitlin... there's not much time》

The girl lightly squeezed her eyes.

《Caitlin?》

And then opened them up.

 _《Miles》_

A tired but joyfull smile started to spread from her features as she realized it was really him and Miles couldn't help but smile back at her as he felt the painful weight looming over his chest disappear once for all.

She was allright and for now that was all that mattered.

* * *

 **A.n:**

Hello Surface fans! I know what are you thinking right now...Why on earth I started writing a fic on that old, unfinished tv show almost nobody remembers...

well here's the reason:

I am an old unaware fan of the series, in fact when the series actually came out -i was a kid- I only watched a few episodes -the last ones I think, 'cos i've curiously waited for the rest and it never showed up.

so I practically didn't know anything about the show, neither the characters or the title... the only things I remembered where that there was this cute little lizard and that boy named Miles.

After a few years (well, more than a few xD) on the internet, I accidentally found out the series' name, the plot and by curiosity I started watching it from the beginning... only to find out I LIKED it a LOT, LOVED so much Nim and Miles' bond and deeply HATED the fact it didn't have a continuation.

So here I am.

Yep, as you're probabily guessing this is the story of how it would've been if the series hadn't stopped with that huge, hideous, TERRIBLY UNNERVING cliffhanger. I was tempted to call it a what-if (and for a short period of time it was) but since I didn't like a thing or two about previous version... and don't actually know how the authors were going to develope the plot, I like to think of this as my ideal season 2 (xD)

Hope you'll like it, though

I'll apologize for eventual grammatical mistakes. I've no beta and my first language's not engish, soooo... I Hope it won't be too messy to read.

Anyway, let's try with this adventure!

 **Ps: FOR THE ONES WHO ARE NOT NEW WITH THIS STORY, you're not imagining things, there are a few changes in the plot. If you want an explanation I suggest you to take a quick glance at chapter 4**.

Sorry for the inconvenience,I'm gonna hit the author for you if you ask me :3

Hope to hear ya!

\- foggy


	2. Chapter 2

Pieces of colorful glass fell from the windows and flew everywhere.

Five living beings, two human adults and two human teenagers followed right behind by a strange greenish lizard, were running through the open gallery right above the main nave, heading straight for the little door at the end of the corridor. The reason? Well.. a gigantic tower of water that had just started to force itself through the shredded windows,filling rapidly the empty church.

Miles was the first to reach the little door while the others sprinted in right behind. Inside they were greeted by a discreet wooden stair that lead straight toward a closed manhole... which, of course, was locked.

«I need something heavy» urged the man -who's name was Rich- from atop the stairs gesturing frantically with his hands. «We have to break the padlock!»

The others all started to search for something useful.

«That!» exclaimed the woman who accompained him pointing at something under the stairs.

«Yeah, there» said Miles grabbing whatever the thing was -a brick- and giving it to Rich, who started bumping it on the padlock.

«That'll work! That'll work!» approved the woman.

The others remained silent, watching him doing his job while the whole building throbbed, trashed and lamented under the powerful strikes of the water.

The sound was terrifying. The internal structure of the building contorted and cried as if on the verge of collapsing, the floor trashed under their feet menacing to slip away at any moment.

Caitlin sat terrified at the bottom of the stairs while the still unnamed woman stayed a few steps ahead. Miles, on his part, started to pace in panic between the Venetian blinds and the door. Fear the building would collapse on them grew every passing second.

Rich persisted with his fight against the padlock, while the outside fight among the waves and the building seemed equally to never end.

Then, like it all started, it slowly came to a stop.

The floor stopped trembling and the internal structure of the walls quieted its piercing screaming against the water... even Rich halted his personal war against the padlock as if fearing the slightest sound would've made the entire building collapse on itself.

The steeple was becoming silent. The rumbling of the water and the occasional complains of the structure were the only sounds they could hear now.

It was as if time had stopped.

In the silence of the tower, Caitlin's hid her face behind his hands and started sobbing desperately.

The other woman, noticing her, gently held her trembling figure in a comforting hug.

«Hey» she whispered caressing her head. «Don't cry»

«I want to see my dad» choked out the girl. The woman placed her hands over her cheeks, gently forcing her gaze into her own.

«Ssh» she said «Cait stop...you're going to see him again, I promise»

«How can you be so sure?» lamented her with a cry. «You don't know what happened to him!»

The woman embraced her again, and Caitlyn kept ceying leaning on her shoulder.

«I do know that» insisted the adult «You've got to believe me, You're gonna see your dad and I'm gonna see my son»

«You don't know that! You don't know what happened to them!» the girl repeated between sobs.

«I _do know_ that» insisted the woman, speaking mostly to herself this time.

Miles watched them without knowing what to do. Caitlin was his friend. He was the one supposed to comfort her, supposed to tell her everything was going to be okay. The only thing was... he knew perfectly well that at the moment he wouldn't have had the strength to do none of those things: his family was who-knew-where too, maybe in danger... and it was mostly because of that he didn't feel capable of assuring her about their safety like that woman was doing. His parents -as Cait's dad- were on the ferry last time he had seen them. The mere thought of their helpless boat being trashed around by a givantic wave of furious water made him shiver with terror, If the boat was still around when the tsunami had hit the coast...

 _No,_ he mentally scolded himself. _I shouldn't think that way, I HAVE to be positive. For them... and for Caitlin. It's not the time to think about the worst. They're safe, they made it in time._

But that only made his eyes water with sadness.

He looked away. He didn't want to cry, not when doing so was the least thing his friend needed.

His gaze trailed toward the two adults occupying the chamber with them.

What about their families and their friends? Maybe even they were worried about who they were risking to loose... still those two seemed so focused on the present, on what they were actually doing, that if they were afraid or worried they weren't showing it. And Miles decided it was better to follow their example than give up on panic.

He diverted his gaze from them and glanced at the little window above the door to inspect the abusive ocean that occupied the presbitery.

A gust of relief soothed monetarily his system as he realized the water was starting to calm down.

«It's over» he thought out loud. And then realization bloomed in his chest with hope «Hey! I think it's over» he repeated for the others with a small smile.

«No» said sadly the woman. «A Tsunami comes in sets: there's gonna be a wave, then another and another one» she explained while absently caressing Caitlin's head who, with the news, started to cry even worse.

The smile in the boy's face was long gone when Rich started again his bumping against the padlock. Nope, they weren't safe yet.

The boy's gaze trailed out of the window again. The water was still stirring with movement... and he finally knew that it wasn't going to be otherwise anytime soon.

Still, this wasn't what worried him most: in fact, a familiar tingle warned him about an undesired presence. Big, angry and powerful.

«Oh my gosh» the words escaped from his lips before he could even stop himself.

«What?» asked the woman. Miles gave her a scared look, not knowing what to say.

How could he explain the fact he could feel the creature's presence when neither him knew how it was possible?

«Wait there» whispered the woman to Caitlyn before aproaching Miles in front of the door.

The woman's gaze trailed out of the window, finding only a few moments later what had just startled the boy: a greenish silouette surfaced out of the water for a brief second, then it disappeared again.

Fear and realization shadowed her eyes: one of the creatures -one of the ADULT ones- was there.

Miles had known about its presence even before seeing it. It's electricity was just enough to switch his danger radar on... and let's not talk about what it was doing to his brain: it was overwhelming. Even if he was used to feel those creatures, its presence and closeness scared him ten times more than the whole tsunami problem.

It was looking for something. Food, he understood. It was hungry - _really,badly hungry-_ and its electric charge was already set to zap everything that looked like meal.

Then, a strange thought flashed in the beast's mind while it inspected the water: in Mile's mind it felt a lot like confusion and a bit like curiosity.

He could feel what the creature was feeling... and the creature was feeling like there was something familiar in the place it was now in.

Miles felt it approaching, but before he could understand what was happening, the creature poked out of the water right under his nose and smelled the air like there was something really interesting in the immediate closeness of the gallery.

 _It knows we're there... it's looking for us,_ he assumed terrified.

Miles couldn't understand exactly what the thing was thinking, those creatures had a completely unusual way to communicate -especially sinced he was a human- but he knew for sure that whatever were the creature's thoughts, he couldn't do much if it choose to fry them in pieces.

And the fact even Nim was nervous about its presence didn't realx him at all, by the way.

Miles and the woman remained still as stones in a sort of silent agreement: better not cause the tiniest sound if they wanted to stay alive. The creature was still sniffing in their direction and Miles was almost sure it had found them -he even started to feel the usual buzzing sound that announced an electric charge ready to strike- when something captured the creature's attention: another string of thoughts... another creature.

Miles was used to feel more than one of them at a time, it was like they were always connected together... but this time it was different. Usually, even with Nim, the others' thoughts where faint echoes, like a sort of background buzz inside the mind of the one he was focusing on... but this time the string was intrusive, like its owner was nearer to him than all the others he'd ever felt. It wasn't an echo as it should have been, but a literal silent scream, soundless but powerfull, a strong emotion that reached every bone and cell, a strong feeling with a christal clear meaning: _Go away._

And the creature did.

«It's gone» breathed the woman, still shocked. Miles exchanged a scared glance with her, then returned watching the now empty pool of water outside the door like it was about to explode.

Something had just saved them, something had just shooed the creature away. Something that had talked.

With _words._

Nim purred quietly in the corner of the room

 _Was it your doing?_ He mentally wondered, still shoked, but the question occupied his mind shortly, because after a few seconds the world started to tremble again. Only, this time, no words were exchanged between the people inside the room. The only one who actually was being quite noisy was Rich, who was still fighting against the padlock.

Then, like she'd just snapped from a nightmare, the woman raced at his side urging him to hurry up.

«I'm doing my best!» snapped Rich trying to hit the brick harder. «I'm almost there»

The others were all on the stairs now,

«C'mon Rich!» repeated the woman.

 _Bonk bonk bonk... SQEECK_

«Done!» announced the man opening the manhole with a quick movement of his arms.

The others started to climb out, one after the other, while he stayed on top helping them getting out.

Glass broke behind them, but they all made it out in time without a scratch, followed right behind by Rich who closed the manhole behind them. They ran through another ramp of stairs before climbing out of another manhole and finding themselves on top of the steeple.

Miles and Cait crouched on the floor beside the bottom of the roof, while the woman positioned herself at their back embracing their trembling figures in a protective way.

«Get down!» urged Rich pressing them all against the concrete.

They stayed that way. One squished beside the other, Cait and Miles holding hands while Rich's arms stayed one on the woman's shoulder and the other embraced the kids. Caitlyn was crying while she embraced Miles, who -even if was trying to ba brave- felt ready to break down too. Even the adults were silently lamenting.

Fear was in everyone.

No one spoke, there was no need to.

They were all waiting.

Waiting to die, to live, to reach the tiniest hope they could made it in one piece.

It seemed to last forever, the building felt like collapsing once or twice, but in the end it never did. Like it happened before, it all started to fade. At first faintly, then all became quieter and quieter 'till, at some point, the trembling stopped once for all.

«Good» said Rich instinctually, starting to relax a bit «Good»

Caitlyn trembled like a leaf beside Miles while the woman breathed quickly in and out.

«Alright... you okay?» Rich asked at no one in particular.

«Yeah,yeah» quivered Cait.

They were still _ALIVE,_ realized Miles with relief. Then a familiar purring made its way between the thobbing sound of the whining building and his relief became a bit closer to joy.

«Nim» he called with a smile. The little creature jumped on the floor from the eaves it was sitting on, landind right in front of the boy with a delighted purr.

He was happy they were safe... and Miles was happy to see him.

«eehhr... he's cool, right?» said Rich cautiously.

«Good boy» said Miles to Nim, not diverting his gaze from the creature's eyes nor answering the man's question.

But Reach quickly forgot. He stoop up slowly, glancing worriedly at what was behind the handrail that prevented them from falling over the edge of the steeple.

The others quietly followed his example, standing up one after the other. Hundreds of feelings flashed in their hearts while their eyes stared in dibilief at the landascape.

 _Fear._

 _Worry._

 _Amusement._

The sight in front of them was in one word unreal.

Roofs and treetops were the only hints suggesting that under the gurgling water once there was a city.

«It is...a new world» someone said.

And it was.

The end of a world.

The beginning of another.

* * *

 **a.n.:**

I'm back! (yeah, I know what you're thinking: who cares -.-" )

Anyway, after this chapter I'll go straight to the real story (this was only a sort of recap).

Next chapter proper presentatations -well, after all those four don't know each other as much as we know them u.u- and maybe an eventual solution at the steeple-problem.

Will our heroes finally find a way to get off the -ah-ehm stupid ah-ehm- steeple after almost ten years of being stuck up there?

You'll know next chapter ;P

Thanks for reading! (even YOU who didn't leave nothing writtent, by the way ;D)

And a special thanks to EpicShadowNinja for the support ;)

Ps: i know that in the episode there was only one manhole and then the characters went immediately out on top of the church... but it seemed a bit unreal to me considering the height of the steeple so I've decided to make the stairs a little bit higher xD


	3. Chapter 3

Miles's heart pounded in anxiety as a conflicted turmoil of feelings started to grow inside his chest: one was the relief of being still alive, the other the terrible feeling the danger wasn't over yet.

He stared worriedly at the raging ocean below. Despite in those days he hadn't been bothered about swimming at all, he couldn't help but hate the thought of himself bathing in that swirling, not so inviting and dangerous-looking pool of debris .

He glanced at the others, who were now staring at the landscape with all kind of different emotions colouring their expressions: Laura thoughtfully observed the horizon as if trying to figure out what was hiding in there, Rich stared at the water with a deep hateful frown while Caitlyn instead kept an eye at the surface immediately near the steeple as if it was a monster ready to eat her alive.

«The water's really high» she whispered at some point. Miles could tell by her expression that her mind was replaying the scenes of Puerto Rico they'd seen on TV before leaving his house. «Why isn't it receding?»

At the sound of her question, the woman turned toward her as if it was meant just for her. However, she still seemed a bit unsure about what to say.

«Usually it takes a while for things to get back to normal» she answered at last, glancing esitantly at the swirling ocean as if to make sure it was still in there.

 _«...but?»_ encouraged Miles feeling the word looming in the air. At that the woman briefly glanced at the horizon, then looked back at them with a serious expression mounted on her face. Miles couldn't tell what was happening in that head of hers, but he could surely guess it wasn't good news.

«C'mon Laura» encouraged Rich crossing his arms. «tell them»

And it was obvious that with _THEM_ he'd meant _US._

The woman let out a deep breath, clearly not ecstatic about what she was going to say.

«What I mean is... well... usually a tsunami is caused by a powerful earthquake» she esxplained «but the one happened today... it stroke the entire south-eastern coast! a wave of this proportions must've been the consequence of a _HUGE_ earthquake, one so powerful that the plates in the area must've suffered a remarcable change in the process ... maybe one of the greatests ever happened in geology history!»

«The radio» mumbled Miles. «Yesterday evening a guy on the radio talked about a nine-point-something earthquake near San Juan... could this be the one you're talking about?»

Laura nodded widening her eyes.

«Absolutely» she comfirmed. «Near San Juan you said?»

«I think so»

A frown shadowed her light blue irises.

«What is it? » encouraged Rich recognizing the expression. «Is it that bad?»

She looked at him with a sigh.

«I fear yes» was her answer. «Have you ever heard about the Valdivia earthquake?».

«Nope» pipes in Caitlyn

«It was the greatest earthquake ever registered on dryland. 9.5 of Richter magnitude scale» explained Laura《but what concerns us is that the affected area suffered a series of irreversible changes that persisted 'till our days: the sea level rose drastically, an ancient dead volcano woke up from his sleep, rivers became swamps... in synthesis _nothing_ ever returned like it was before» she was looking at them with an intense expression, waving her hands around as if to reach something she couldn't grasp with her words only. «Now, if the quake causing our tsunami was even slightly that powerfull, the sea bottom in that spot has probabily changed like landscape did in Valdivia »

«What are you trying to say?» asked Caitlyn with a small voice. «that Wilmington too won't return as it was before?»

Laura gave her a compassionate look, then nodded.

«If the Earth's crust near San Juan has endured the kind of changes I have in mind» she paused looking at the landscape, then sighed glancing back at them. «the water is more likely going to rise than to recede»

Miles stared at the horizon in shock.

His city? Submerged in water forever? He didn't want to believe that.

«How come you know all of that stuff?» asked Caitlyn preceding him and maybe hoping to find a lack of reliability in her theories «Are you only guessing? Or you know for sure?»

«Well... I'm an oceanographer» the other answered with a brief smile that quickly disappeared «even if mine are only speculations, I know what I'm talking about : this » she hinted at their surroundings «is not reversible» and her serious expression, joined to the fact the water wasn't hinting to low down, were only ulterior confirmations.

«Oh» murmured the girl looking away at the ocean.

«Why nobody was expecting it?» chimed in Miles. «I mean, how's possible that an eartquake that big wasn't predictable? Shouldn't somebody check this things out?»

«Sadly, earthquakes can't be predincted » she answered with a sigh . Then her expression suddenly changed. « Even if... this time» she esitated glancing at Rich as if he was the only one up there who could understand her problem. Miles stared at them knowing he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear.

 _«This time»_ said Rich crossing his arms. «there was someone who knew»

«and _who_ was that?» asked Caitlyn weidenind her eyes.

 _«Iderdex»_ answered Laura. «we're more than sure that they knew about the tsunami»

«And about the creatures too» echoed Rich crossing his arms. At that Miles gave them all his attention.

«And how can you be so sure about that?» asked the girl. «they were there, but we haven't heard anything about a tsunami... if they knew they would've warned every one!»

«Believe me. Not having heard anything from them, doesn't mean they didn't know » answered Laura with a frown.

«And how do you know? Were you working for them?» asked Caitlyn

«Oh no» the other answered «It's a long story really... let's just say we were sort of... _visited -well w_ ithout permission- their facility here in Wilmington and judging by the kind of evacuation they were carrying on we are extra sure they were well prepared for what happened _YEARS_ before the autorities alerted the rest of the population»

«And why didn't they warn anyone then?» squeaked Caitlyn nervously «They were right there in Wilmington! Why didn't they tell anybody? They could've saved a lot of lives!»

«I don't know Caitlyn» said the woman with sadness «all we came to know is that they were part of a project that made the crearures into existence. Why they programmed them to dig into the sea bottom or why they 'd built them in the firstplace, is still a mistery»

«Wait wait wait, what's that you've just said?» asked Miles alarmed by her words. «Built? _Programmed?_ What does this exactly _mean?»_ he demanded with a deep frown darkening his eyes.

«Well» said Laura esitantly, throwing a quick glance at Nim. «the creatures are man-made»

« _Man-made?!_ » he repeated incredulously. Milions of questions started twirling in his confused brain. When? Why? _How?_

«And how's that even possible?» he snapped «And How come you two know all of that stuff and the rest of the world doesn't have a clue about it? Why didn't you say anything to anyone?» his tone was a tad accusing now and his words a lot harsher than he had intended them to be.

« _Because_ » said Rich with a hint of anger in his voice too «we've spent those last months risking our lives in order to find a way to understand what was happening: after days spent in a rusted dump trying to figure out where the creatures were hiding, we almost drowned five thousands feet underwater to film their existence, then almost got killed multiple times because a secret agency thought we knew too much... and what else? Oh _yeah:_ when we tried to alert the world like you said, they made our story sound as a fraud and all of our _freaking hard work_ ended up in the _wastebin!»_ he was glaring at him now. « That's _why_ we know all of that stuff»

A mix of embarassment flared Miles' cheeks and for a moment he looked away in shame. He had been so confused and scared of what their revelations implied that he hadn't thought that maybe those two had actually _tried_ to alert everybody... and in front of a news as incredible as the announcement of the existence of dinosaur-like creatures, nobody had believed them of course.

Then their words finally sunk in: a secret agency? A company _programming_ living things and hiding the fact from the public? It was just too absurd to believe... maybe even more absurd than the existence of mithological creatures.

He stared at them in disbilief.

«leave him alone, Rich» scolded Laura with a meaningful glare, then glanced back at Miles who had just managed to get a grip over his surprise. «We tried all we could to warn people about what was happening, but no one believed us, at least no who could've done something to prevent the disaster. In any case, we don't know why Iderdex -or at least the Company they worked for- created those things. What we do know instead, is that they programmed them to dig huge holes in the Earth's crust and didn't want anyone to know what was happening ... that's all. Saved that, we're as _clueless_ as the rest of the world is, I'm sorry»

Miles grabbed the handrail in shock, his heart bumping in his ears while he inspected the swirling water below. He couldn't believe it, he didn't want to. All of what was happening to them -to him- was a misterious Company's doing?

«Now what?» he asked almost in a whisper.

At first his question hung unanswered in the air, the news Laura had just told them still ringing in their ears. Then Rich woke up from his shock and collected some will to answer.

«We find a way to get out of here» he mumbled.

«And how? We're trapped» said catlyn as matter of fact.

The guy smirked.

«Not if we can call for help» he announced picking from his poket something that made the girl widen her eyes in surprise.

«You have a _phone!»_ she exclaimed.

 _THAT_ was a good news, Miles realized with a smile.

«Yep» the guy answered. «We won't be stuck in the middle of nowhere again» He placed it over his ear.

 _«Again?»_ asked the boy giving Laura a confused look, who simply pursed her lips without answering.

They all waited anxiously for Rich's reaction, staring at him expectantly, but their hope was quickly replaced by resignation as the peacefull expression on Rich's face changed drastically into a very _enraged_ one.

«What's wrong?» asked Laura pursing her lips in worry, even if her eyes told clearly she already knew the answer.

«Lines are dead» was Rich's reply as he shut down his flip phone with a loud plop.

«We can't be sure, maybe it's only temporary» the other told optimistically. « Try again. I'll try with mine» added then picking hers out of her pocket.

Rich didn't seem convinced but still obeyed.

A few tries later it was official: cellphones weren't going to help them with their problem.

«The relays» lamented Rich sitting on the pavement in resignation. «the tsunami must've knocked 'em out»

«What are we going to do now?» asked Caitlyn worried «we can't leave the city by swim, can we?»

«We can try with a payphone» suggested Miles. The others looked at him like he had just grown a second head. He cleared his throat. «I mean, I saw in a movie that those things aren't like cellphones, they still work even after a natural disaster»

«Miles» she scoloded with a doubtful expression. «movies tell lots of stupid things»

«No no, the boy's right» interrupted Rich while a glimmer of hope started shining again in his eyes. «payphone wires run underground and are powered by their operator's station, so it is possible that they're still working»

«And where on earth do we find a payphone not submerged in water yet?» asked Laura skeptically.

«It's something at least.» muttered Rich thoughtfully «We should try, I don't want to be stuck up here»

«Neither do I» retorted Laura «but how are you planning to leave the steeple while we're still surrounded by tons of water? The current's still too high: who _enters_ risks to be dragged away, not mentioning that creature we'd seen inside the church ... I bet it's still around, not alone, trying to find something to crunch into pieces while we're sitting up there» she protested «No, I refuse , we'll wait for help. We've risked our lives just enough for one day» and with that Miles was sure she wasn't only referring to the tsunami.

«Haven't you heard the range of destruction the wave has coused?! it can take _ages_ for rescue parties to come our way!» snapped Rich «Should I remind you how much we've stayed in the middle of nowhere last time?»

Miles had the impression this was the same subject the guy had hinted a few moments before, but didn't ask for confirmations.

«You know Rich, that's exactly the _point_ » Laura said gesturing with her hands _«last time_ we were _literally_ in the middle of nowhere and no one beside Jackson or my former husband knew anything about it» she seemed calm... but almost hissed the last words. «while _this time_ we're way far from the water, on a _roof ,_ in a city that surely will be inspected as the world knows what had happened there... not mentioning the fact that there's _surely_ someone who's already looking for _them»_ she pointed at the kids. «If not for us, they're coming for them! Let's stay 'till we can, if nobody comes our way... we'll think of something. For now it's safer up here, where we can see clearly if someone is coming and were we are safe from the creatures»

«She's right» echoed Miles pointing down at the water _«Look»_

The others all glanced at the spot: a huge green light shone from the dephts while a tremendous sound started reverberating through the walls.

A growl. A very loud and dangerous one.

Laura was right: the creatures were still around.

«It's one of them» mumbled Rich looking at Laura. No trace of his previous stubborness could be found in his tone anymore.

«We have to stay here, where it's safe » she repeated more convinced than ever. «Rescue parties are surely on our way, we have only to be patient»

«What if that creatures sees us?» asked Caitlyn concerned.

《They won't bother us» she answered. «we're too far from their reach»

Rich sighed.

 _«Fine,_ we'll stay then» he said, even if a hard glare colured his expression «but if nothing meaningful happens before tomorrow, I'll go looking for another solution»

«We have a deal» approoved the woman almost satified. Well... _almost._

Rich glared at the horizon in silent agreement.

The sun was alfway his descent toward the horizon now and a small breeze slithered gently between the half submerged buildings. Other waves had hit the coast while they waited up there, but they were nothing compared with the ones happened before: the water had only risen a little bit more, but was still enough away from them to be safe from the creatures.

Rich had repeated a couple of times he didn't like to sit still doing nothing before deciding to climb down the stairs and take a closer look at the water. He'd lasted short, though: after a broken window and a walk on the roof ended up with a pretty big heart-attack, he'd climbed back were he'd started muttering about how he 'hated those things' and how 'he could've fixed them if he had his harpoon with him'. His entrance had made a few laughs rise from the others, but the mood had returned soon underground .

Miles had surveyed the water from the parapet after his returm. Under the surface two huge silhouettes had circled the steeple looking for food. Then, realizing their closeness was only making his system kick into maximum-danger-ready-to-zap mode, he'd decided it was way better if he avoided any contact with them... so he'd sat with the others.

However, excluding their temporary restlessness while the water had moved another time and that brief encounter, things had become quieter... maybe too much.

 _Boredom_ in fact was the best word to describe what they were feeling right now.

They were all sitting on the pavement.

Miles was staring at the sky almost mechanically: no elicopters, no boats or hints of rescue parties had been seen the whole day. This particular lack of events though, had allowed the boy's mind to run free without giving him the chance to get a grip over his thoughts.

He couldn't help but think about how ridiculous was their situation: they had managed to escape not just one, but a series of tsunamis... only to end up stuck on top of a steeple with no other choice but wait.

He started thinking about their crazy day, about his parents, his sister and the fact he didn't have a clue about what had happened to them. This on its own was a paricularly big concern, but then his thoughts ran straight into replaying all the events leading to that, every single one of them, starting from the beginning -a wakeboard evening with his friends ended up with the terror of being eaten by something hiding under the water- and then all the spiralig ones happened right after: an egg found at the bay in the middle of thousand others, a very unpleased mom lamenting about a wrecked aquarium, a strange lizard hiding in his sister's bathroom, a long ride on a stolen car, the bite on his leg, the hospital... his mutation.

Let's get this straight: he wasn't regretting anything of what he'd done for Nim, he would've done it hundreds and hundreds of other times if it meant he could preserve their friendship... but what he'd done to Greg, what he'd been about to do to that guy on the ferry, and the constant electric buzz he'd felt ever since his recovery, the thoughts that had started intruding his mind... he couldn't help but be scared about that.

Nim's purring shook him out of his thoughts for a brief moment .

His little friend... their bond was unique. _Special._ Anything in his life had ever been so intense as the feeling his friend's presence scatured in him. With hIm around he really felt at home... and he would've done anything to protect him.

then...

 _Man-made._

The thought popped in his mind out of nowhere hitting him as powerfully as a hurricane. Those had been the adults' words to describe the creatures... and they'd creeped him out a lot .

 _Nim? The result of an experiment?_

He had always considered him a revealed mistery coming from the ocean: A sea monster, a legendary creature... not part of a crazy experiment gone wrong. That news had made him and his kind seem more like dangerous inventions than powerful and wondrous animals...but at least had explained -even if in a minimal way- why all of those things had happened and were still happening to and around him: his mutation, the electricity... the fact those creatures could actually speak. The fact they were the result of human's toying with nature shouldn't have surprised him after all: Nature would't have ever created some freaking monster capable of destroying its equilibrium... or of changing another being's nature in the first place. Only humans could do something that _stupid._

The mental picture of the slitted pupils in his reflection's eyes popped instantly in his mind like the memory of a nightmare. How much was the mutation affecting his body? Was it already done? Or there was some thing else on the way, maybe a tail or a pair of claws just to mention a few ?

A cold shiver ran up his spine: a _freak._ That he was becoming... and he couldn't do anything to prevent it.

Nim's purring cached his attention again. A rush of fondness flowed gently in his system as they locked eyes, making him aware once more about the special bond the two of them shared: Nim was kind of telling him he understood his pain and wanted to help him be happy again. This made a smile of joy and pride part from his lips, while a gust of self-hatred about what he'd just thought filled his mind in return.

 _Whatever is happening to me doesn't change anything_ , he thought while scratching nim's ear. _You're still my best friend._

A series of purrs and whines were his response _. And you are mine_ , was the word-less thought that had accompained them.

It reminded him of the voice. Of course, what Nim had just done wasn't the same thing he'd felt inside the church a while before. He wasn't one hundred percent sure, but in that occasion words -english words- had something like popped inside his mind out of nowhere, soundig like his own but not belonging to him at all... as if someone else had used his own within-voice to talk _to_ him.

Nope, it had been different from what he had grown used to feel with Nim. Still, he had the impression that something was slipping from his grasp : what had been the cause of it if not one of the creatures?

 _Was it you?_ he mentally asked observing his friend. But Nim simply blinked as if not understanding his question, then gazed away starting licking his paw.

Maybe he'd only imagined it, Miles thought, or maybe he was seriously becoming a disturbed sociopath with double personality issues like he'd suspected since all of that had begun...

These were the kind of thoughts that, despite his desperates tries to shut them up, his brain insisted on replaying in a loop.

His mutation, the creatures, his city, his family...

It was all so unnerving he found himself hating with all his might that apparently inexistent Company the adults had talked about. In the end, if they were the actual creators, what was happening to him was all their fault.

Not Nim's. Not the creatures'. But exclusively _theirs._

«You're hands are shaking» mumbled Caitlyn at some point noticing his bad mood. «Are you okay?»

«Yeah yeah, I'm all right» he answered far too quickly with a shrug... but her we-haven't-finished-yet stare declared clearly she hadn't bought it. She waited for the rest, but Miles found himself not ready for it at all: he knew of course she was the only one he could talk to -she was the only one knowing about the mutation after all- but he didn't feel ready for an open-hearted kind of conversation. And besides, those two strangers looking at him without knowing yet -and hopefully never- about his little problem, made his decision to stay put and quiet seeming far way better than the alternative 'hey dudes, don't judge me, but I'm a mutant kid'.

Cait understood his silent plead and quickly dropped the subject.

«You know Miles » she mumbled instead. «I haven't thanked you yet»

He blinked twice and gave her a confused look. «About what?» he asked.

She let out a brief laugh.

«About what you've done today you silly, about what else otherwise ?» she said with a smile «If it wasn't for you we would've been all swimming in that murky pool down there right now»

«Oh» he mumbled blushing. «It was nothing, really... and beside it was Rich the one who took us upthere»

«Nothing? Are you _kidding?_ » asked Caitlin skeptically. «You risked your own life coming back to find me with a tsunami on the way... and you saved me driving that car away from your house. If you hadn't taken this responsability in the first place none of us would be still alive»

«Yeah» agreed Rich with a smirk. «if you're not counting the fact you've almost killed us in the process»

Miles slightly blushed at that. «I-I-I'm sorry» he mumbled looking away. «I was scared, I didn't know what to/»

«Hey bud» the other said patting his shoulder with a laugh «I was kiddin'. It would've been difficult even for an adult! Figures for a kid» then he was serious again -well, almost. «This of course, doesn't allow you to drive without a license, mind you»

A laugh escaped caitlyn's lips and soon they were all laughing lightly. After that the conversation took a friendlier way and Miles managed to relax a little bit.

Rich and Daughtery started telling them about their adventure, from their first meeting with the creatures to the first time they'd met each other, from their immersion in the pacific ocean bottom to their outstanding conversation with one of the Company 's scientists, the one who had told them about the creatures...

And the more they spoke, the more Miles understood those people deserved more than simple thanks: their predicament had really cost them everything they loved. Rich had lost his brother, his wife's trust and his daughters, while Laura had lost her career and had been forced to abandon her son to protect him. Miles felt guilty for having doubted about their sincerity and, even if their adventures hadn't resulted as they had hoped, Miles found himself sincerely respecting those two strangers whom had tried to do so much for everyone.

Then it was his and Caitlyn's turn to speak.

She told them about the misterious attacks happening in the water and about his friends' death during one of those, while Miles briefly spoke about how he'd found Nim and his misadventures in order to protect him, saving of course the creepy part about his newfund abilities.

Once the 'creatures' topic was largely explored, they kept talking about little things: the aquarium, school, jobs, weather ... nothing they were really intersted in. The thing was that they were all trying not to think about what had happened to their respective families and friends... and soon they ran out of topics.

Time passed and they kept waiting in a newfund silence.

No one was coming their way.

After a while, Rich had started to get edgy and restless, but his promise -and maybe the fact there where greenish shapes swimming around them too- kept him right there on the roof with the others.

Resignation started to fill their mood with tiredness and hunger advancement : if things weren't going to change during the night, they would 've needed another solution ... and all the possible ones included going through the water. No one had mentioned anything yet, but the thought of swimming in an ocean filled with people-eating creatures wasn't appealing at all.

Night had just fallen down and tiredness had started taking over.

Someone, like Rich for example – even though his willingness to take first watch in case help showed up while they slept – was snoring loudly on the pavement... while someone else had only managed to sleep only a few hours before founding himself not able to do it anymore: Miles was staring at the cloudy sky now.

The air was cold and electric, but wasn't bothering him either focused like he was on the exploding greenish lights filling the distant horizon: a thunderstorm was approaching... and it's presence was wrecking his nerves into pieces.

The creatures were close by: that day tsunami seemed to have attracted them rather than shooed them away. Miles could't tell exactly how many they were, but he could surely imagine it by the amount of thoughts whispering in his owns: they were so many he was finding difficult even to focus on the sounds around him. Like his owns, their thoughts were all connected to the thunderstorm and were preventing him from sleeping.

The others, though, were all but awake: their regular snoring assured him they were deep down in morpheus' embrace. Caitlyn for example breathed regularly beside him, all squished against his back in order to escape the cold. Despite her closeness, all he could think of right now was that living electricity rumbling in the atmosphere, buzzing in his brain and piercing at his skin with unwelcomed insistence.

He felt edgy and nervous, ready to snap at any moment.

He remembered feeling something like that a few evenings before: a senseless fury taking over his will, a fury he had barely managed to contain closing himself in his bathroom. The creatures' madness had caused it back then... and it was still them the reason why he was going crazy now. They were hungry... like he was. Only, this kind of hunger they had in common was very different from the one he was used to: what he was feeling in fact was more like a general uneasiness than a languor in his stomach... and he knew almost surely that it needed only a thing in order to quiet down.

The creatures were closer and were approaching them as if attracted by something he couldn't place. Other lightnings slashed the night and hit the sea in definite spots.

 _«Rich»_ Laura's voice catched Miles' attention away from the lights, even if only for a brief moment.

He turned to gave her a quick glance: she was sitting and was staring at the horizon now. Her frightened expression, despite the darkness they were in, was clear as the light of day.

«What is it?» asked the man squeezing his eyes from the sleep.

«Look at the sea» the doctor whispered pointing to the distance.

Rich sleeply obeyed, but when his eyes made contact with the green lights in the distance he widened them and stood up.

«The creatures» he mumbled grabbing the handrail.

Laura was at his side now and was watching worriedly his same spot. «They're bringing the thunderstorm here » she whispered at him.

The clouds bumped against eachother upon his head and their presence seemed to be the only thing Miles could focus on.

 _The creatures_ , he laboriously repeated in his mind. ... _the creatures are binging the thunderstorm_.

Then something clicked.

 _THE CREATURES OF COURSE_! _They are the source of the lightenings!_

Pieces of memories started to crowd his mind: the closeby electrical cables when the little ones had bitten him, that same green lightnings he was seing now being there the night Matthew and johnathan were killed, Nim sticking his tongue in a socket... and his same newfound issue with light bulbs at home.

His head started spinning like a twister once he realized what was happening: the clouds above his head had never been this dangerous.

His worried gaze trailed toward Caitlyn, then to the others. He had to leave. He had to leave and fast.

He stood up quietly and went for the other side of the steeple hoping the others wouldn't notice.

The ocean's call was umbereable. His instict was clawing at his will, pleading to be freed once more like that night at Campton Marsh... and he was trying to suppress the urge to listen to it again like he did back then.

Panic started flowing through his system. He found himself pacing back and forth before the parapet in the unsuccessful try to shut the voices up. He had to control his actions if he wanted to protect the others: letting his instinct take over again would've only put at risk everyone.

Thunder rumbled again and a faint growling accompained it from the distance.

He needed to focus on something else: he tightened his grip over the handrail so much his knukles turned white, but doing so was only making things worse. Then his eyes halted on the manhole, darkness and lonelyness where expecting him there and it was just enough for him. Without thinking about it twice, he opened the little door and dragged himself inside.

He ran down the stairs and found himself beside the wall, trembling like a leaf while elctricity buzzed crazily inside his system, a liquid energy fueling his unmotivated rage.

Thunder rumbled outside in protest as if responding to his same electricity.

Whispers were invading his mind as powerfully as they never had.

 _Stop i_ t! He pleaded . _Stop it NOW!_

But the creatures seemed even more determined to convince him now that they were aware about his presence. Their voice was driving him crazy!

 _Food. Come with us._

Their thoughts kinda meant.

 _«Miles?»_

He widened his eyes. It was Caitlyn.

 _Not NOW_! He pleaded clenching his teeth. Not now that he was about to kick into madness mode!

If before he was only scared... now he was on the verge of crying out loud in _terror._

He froze on the spot, wishing she couldn't see him in the darkness, but she was there and was looking straight at him, lights shining through the window not helping at all.

 _What is she doing down here ?!_

«I saw you running, you seemed sick» she said worried. It was his little stunt on the roof the reason why she'd woken up, he could've bet it. «Are you allright?»

He breathed fast _-scared to death_ \- without answering, while his skin crackled with energy. She was about to place a hand over his shoulder, but he avoided her touch.

«I'm fine» he lied clenching his teeth.

«You're not» insisted her with a frown. «I'm not stupid Miles, something is bothering you. We're alone now, I'm here to listen if you want to talk»

His heart raced in his chest, fear to hurt her and rage about her insistence grew at the same time inside him: a familiar percing sound started ringing in his ears.

 _Come here. Come with us_.

Was the singsong repeating in a loop at the bottom of his thoughts

«I don't want to» he snapped squinting his eyes, answering both Caitlyn and that last intruder.

«You should» she said stiffening « You don't have to hide from me , you can trus.. »

 _Ska-boom!_

Lightening struck close by enlightening the tiny space they were in. She glanced worriedly out of the window and then looked back at him ready to tell something else... but instead she widened her eyes in disbilief.

«Miles!» she said in awe. «Your eyes... they're... _glimmering?»_ then something in her expression changed. «this is the creatures' doing, isn't it? It's them the reason you're acting this wierd » she realized. Miles looked away.

 _Food._

Another surge of electricity charged his whole body. If he kept going like that he would soon fry Caitlyn into embers.

«Go away» he mumbled between his teeth,.

the girl widened her eyes in surprise. «why/»

«Go away Caitlyn !» he almost cried out backing off. He realized only now that he'd reached the point were the stairs met the water. «Leave me alone»

«Why are you doing this? What's wrong with you?!» she asked a bit enraged now «I'm only trying to help!»

 _Food_

 _Hunt_

 _Come_

He clenched his teeth, trying to breathe regularly... but his instinct was clawing at him, wrecking his brain into shreds.

«Cait» he said labouriously. «You _HAVE_ to go»

Lightnings shone again outside the window, his body yearned for everything the atmosphere above their heads promised to provide him and his nerves were literally sparkling with desire. Whatever he was waiting for, he found himself needing it... needing it with all his might.

 _Come_

The instinct was winning despite his tries, becoming stronger and overwhelming. Caitlyn was in danger.

Then she seemed to realize. All the anger in her eyes faded away: all that was left was a deep worried expression.

«Why?» she asked taking a closer step. He kept backing off, ending up stiking a foot on the water. «What are they doing to you?» she was almost whispering now.

He closed his eyes. Rumbling clouds, slashing lights, electrical hurricanes and thin lines of energy where the only things he could focus on now .

«Leave me _ALONE»_ he hissed angrily glaring at her. The voices, the creatures... were as loud as his same heartbeat ringing in his ears... and they were winnng.

 _Join us._

And all he could see were geen lights and raging, swirling sparks.


	4. Chapter 4

**THIS CHAPTER/A.N. IS FOR THE ONES NOT NEW WITH THIS STORY (if you ain't one of those, you can proceed with next chapters without worrying)**

When I started to write I had just a brief idea of where the story was going to go... but I hadn't thought much about how it was going to reach that point. So, as my adventure here had already begun, another idea popped in my mind for the plot (which I wrote in italian and published elsewhere) ... and well, funny thing is... I liked this second idea more than the first one.

So here we are.

 **The changes I've made are only slightest (and I'm almost sure you would not notice them too much)**... in syntesis: my new character doesn't exist anymore. She was completely useless in this part of the story, not mentioning the absurdity of her sudden appearence at the beginning of former chapter 1. So she won't be there anymore... as won't be there the long and boring former chapter two which in this brand new version is finally inexistent (replaced by former chapt threee...yay!)

For the rest, **the story's practically the same.** I know that this kind of thing shouldn't be done, but I was arriving at a point of hate where I was finding very difficult to proceed with the plot... And as you may have noticed, I don't like to spend my free time with something I don't like.

As said things are still the same, the story's the same, exept for the presence of my OC that's not there anymore... I actually don't think you'll need to re-read previous chapters to understand what happens next (well if you want to check, you're free to do though, but you'll find only slightest changes:) .. I only hope you'll like it ...(if no, not my problem U.U)

Kidding of course.

Thanks for your patience and lots (I mean HUGE lots) of apologizes for the terribly long delay.

hope you'll forgive me *-*

Let me know if you prefer the story that way or if you preferred it the other... (I'm not changing back another time mind you... But I would really like to know what you're thinking... your opinions, your wonderings etc. In synthesis: as always Criticism would be appreciated :)

thanks for stopping by and have fun with next chapters! (well...when they'll be ready -.-)

as always thanks to epicShadow-now-KarasuTengu for the support (and the hint: you were right! maaaaany mistakes... not entirely my fault though , typing with a cellphone sadly has its bad sides *lie: yes it was your fault, missing to recheck what you wrote, you lazy excuse of a writer* xD thanks for the hint, I checked them re-editing the chapters :)

and of course another special thanks to who is following/favouring this story (I have threeeeeeeee followeeeers) it makes me feel appreciated, really T-T

See yah next time!

~foggy


	5. Chapter 5

**LITTLE ADVERTISEMENT FOR WHO'S NOT NEW WITH THE STORY: you should check chapter 4, 'cos there are a few changes in the plot you might wanna know (not huge ones, but still... there are)**

NEUS Security Department. Palo Alto, California.

Lee was sitting at his desk, his gaze lost nowhere in particular, while his mind well... was very well occupied with everything else. He had a lot to think about lately -especially after the implications resulted during one of the last encounters with his two main targets.

Lee was undoubtfully aware of what expected him if the Company came to know what he had just missed to do with those two... but right now he had _bigger_ problems to worry about, especially now that everyone knew about the creatures.

Despite his collegues's departure, he and his fellow agents were the ones appointed to stay upon the surface, right there were they could follow the events in first person. Their hiding place, their facility, of course was safe and sound in case of disaster -with an emergency getaway directly connected with the Western plate depth Shelter at their disposition.

But their work upon the surface wasn't over yet. there was still so much to do, to hide, to take care of since everyone talked about the creatures: practically every single TVnews showed footages of the creatures... he had practically at least one undercover agent located in all the cities hit by the tsunami in order to have constant updates of the general idea people had about what had happened. The rest of the team instead surveyed the situation from the base while he on his part had to make sure everybody did their job properly... and still himself of course was Koastler's ears and eyes now that things were going to heat up. It was in this kind of times that Koastler and NEUS required from him his best performances.

 _Still,_ despite his efforts, he couldn't help himself but repeat in his mind what that guy -Rich- and doctor Daughtery had showed him a few days before.

His _exact_ copy.

He could 've mistaken the guy for himself if he hadn't known exactly that he had never been in the place showed in the film... especially since such film was filmed in the early sixties', when he wasn't even born. There were only one to three explanations for his existence: or the guy was a doppelganger, or some sort of relative... or his life had been a lie, the result of one of his boss' experiments.

 _A clone_.

The implications of that reality had started to shake his actual motivations. Was it right to experiment on human beings? Was it right to clone another man?

He wasn't new with the topic of course -after all he had known since the beginning that his boss was following a kind of politic considered _immoral_ by most- and that knowlegde had never actually bothered him too much -well, mostly because he had never allowed himself to question what was right and what was not when it came to his work.

But now that it concerned his very own existence... deep down he'd felt a little shaken... if not betrayed.

But at last, he had often reasoned in thosedays, did it really matter so much where he came from, that there was the possibility of him being a clone?

He had often tried to convince himself that no, it wasn't changing anything about what he was going to do... but still... the fact he had let go of his most important targets, maybe the most important ones he'd ever had in his whole career, made hard to brush his doubts away.

And so he was alone in his office in order to find some peace and quiet from the outside chaos, some silence where he could reason in peace about his little loyalty _issue_ .

Koastler had been a strong presence in his life lately. At the beginning Lee had thought to be special, that he had earned to be the head security agent of his secret project by merits... but it all seemed so meaningless now. Maybe Koastler hadn't chosen him for his abilities, maybe he was chosen because of this other guy...

But even if things were thay way... this knowledge wasn't wiping away what Koastler had done for Sharon... and for her illness.

Not mentioning his team... they all counted on him. He couldn't betray them for a personal problem, neither he could completely ignore Koastler's orders without having heard his own version, especially after all he had done for his family.

《Excuse me sir》 it was a young woman, dressed in a talier, who was holding a bunch of papers in one hand while with the other had just pulled the door open.

《Come in》he said while straightening himself. 《what is it, miss Lane?》

She slowly walked inside. The tapping of her heels against the pavement was the only sound that could be heard inside the room.

《Smith thought you wanted to take a look at that》 she announced giving him the papers. He took them almost mechanically, but when his eyes met what the pages were holding his expression changed completely. A surprised look of amusement lighted up his features showing clearly his newfound interest for the details.

《How long ago did our sensors register this signal?》 he asked carefully examining the datas.

《Twenty minutes, but as you can see it happened not just tonight, but almost every time the Lutrapleurodonshappened to be in the area》

《I see》mumbled Lee. then pointed at the first line labelling the oldest paper《there says the first recording dates a week ago. why haven't you informed me earlier?》

《You told us to warn you only under certain circumstances. we've kept an eye on it since that recording , but our scientists feared it was caused by one of the creatures. tonight though the signal was stronger and clearer than the nights before, even with those interferences disturbing our sensors. Now it's more than obvious, the signal is just of the right frequency, the parameters are the ones we were looking for... and the Lutrapleurodons seem all to be lured in that spot. _This_ is the kind of combination of events you've told us to warn you about》

《yeah, it is》 he confirmd in a whisper, still checking the papers as if to assure himself they were really the right ones. Then his gaze met the one of miss Lane, who was still waiting for his answer.《Very well. Ready the team and declare state of Alert level one, code HN01》

《Code _HN01,_ sir?》 asked the woman showing her confusion.

《Just tell the agents, they'll now what to do》he said 《I'll give them ten minutes, no more》

《all right sir》 she agreed with a nod, a bit unsatisfied, then with a swift movement she turned and went out.

Once alone, Lee slowly leaned his back against the chair, still shocked about the news. He had waited for this since well... since he had accepted the task five years before. And now that it had happened, that time seemed so _far_ and _unreal._

Still, he knew exactly, as if it had been yesterday, what he had to do now. With a sigh he brought his cellphone over his ear.

 _《Mr Lee》_ formarly greeted the voice at the other end after a few seconds _《 Hope you're bringing me good news this time》_

《I hope too, Mr. Koastler》he answered with the same formal tone 《We've recieved a signal _-the_ signal: it perfectly corrisponds to the one you told me to look for. We're reading a team》

 _《That's the news I was waiting for, Mr Lee!》_ laughed the scientist _.《where did the signal come from?》_

《Wilmington sir, the city's is almost completely underwater now and the Lutrapleurodons are all gathering downtown. We've just declared state of Alert Hn01 as you instructed me. Our agents will be ready in ten minutes》

 _《Very well, I needed exactly that kind of information》_ the other approoved _《I'm sending you a beta team, you'll need support from now on. In the mean time check the area, find the source of the signal, but wait for doctor Cendoline before doing anything. she knows how to handle this kind of situation and you'll need all of her knowledge in order to succeed》_

《Yes sir》 the other agreed 《what are we looking for exactly?》

 _《Something special》_ said Koastler _《b_ ut _leave it to Cendoline, mr Lee. For now, you and your men just check the area and drive away the curious. I wouldn't be surprised if the city already swarmed with reporters》_

《It'll be done mr. Koastler》

and the conversation was over.

Something special, he had said. Of course without giving away anything else. But Lee was a patient man.

He was stareing at the wall now, the same thoughtful expression of before still marking his features. Only, this time, there was an hint of something else that wasn't there before: he had finally made his decision. He'd ask him, at the right moment he was going to ask Koastler about his concerns, about his doubleganger and about an eventual reason for not having came to know earlier.

But for now, he had a job to do... and he was going to do it the _best way possible._

* * *

 **an** :

I'm aliiiiiive! (you thought differently didn''t you, uh?)

I know, I know... you wanted to know what happened to Miles... but instead, here we are with a thoughtful agent Lee who's asking himself if the effort's worth the pain xD Hope it didn't come out too OOc - or confusing- by the way.

As you've seen We have something new on the menu here... NEUS, beta team, Lutrapleurodons, a certain Cendoline, and I bet you're all asking yourselves what was all the fuss about. Sadly, I think you'll have to wait some more.

I know this didn't make for the _-very-_ long wait, still I hope it did at least tickle your curiosity for future chapters.

Lemme know.

Thanks to everyone for the patience

and as always thanks to epicShadow-now-KarasuTengu for the support (and the hint: you were right! maaaaany mistakes... not entirely my fault though , typing with a cellphone sadly has its bad sides *lie: yes it was your fault, missing to recheck what you wrote, you lazy excuse of a writer* xD thanks for the hint, I checked them re-editing the chapters :)

and of course another special thanks to who is following/favouring this story (I have threeeeeeeee followeeeers) it makes me feel appreciated, really T-T

if you have questions you can PM me ;)

alla prossima!


	6. Chapter 6 The Dream

It was dark.

A thick but strangely pleasant darkness, the same kind where you feel protected instead of threatened... the kind of darkness where you can still see lights in your immediate closeness, lights as thin as fireflies shining brighter every time your heart makes a beat.

The atmosphere felt kinda familiar too. Warm and pleasant, it caressed him the exact same way a mother embraced the beloved child she hadn't seen for a long time.

The real beauty however was the song. It practically came from _everywhere,_ folding and unfolding itself around everything, giving shape and colors at darkness and lights, piercing through the atmosphere till it reached skin, bones and his very own heart.

 _Yeah..._ that song was what really mattered. It made him want to smile, to be happy... to _forget._

Then something changed.

A strange feeling started to grow inside his chest and as it did the atmosphere shifted all around him, changing shape, consistency and mood: he was still in the water, but he realized the lights shifted further away every time that feeling made his way through his system. There where he was floating now darkness seemed thicker, heavier. He wasn't actually finding it less warm or familiar... still the more he noticed that feeling the more that feeling seemed to grow on its own, without an apparent motiviation if not the very same song that had lulled him till that moment.

Only then he managed to give that feeling a name.

 _Fear._

But how could he be scared? The surface was turbolent, that was true, a storm was raging and flashes of light shone above the darkness, but that music was just _so beautiful..._ even if it was forcing itself inside his mind he still found it pleasant and right, even funny... it was for him, it was _his song._ Why would he be scared of it? Why was he feeling as if something terrible, _unnatural,_ was just happening? Why was he so _scared?_

Wait a minute...

 _Not_ _HE_ , this was _not_ his fear: he felt peaceful ... their song was lulling him and the lights were warmining his heart. He was home, there weren't reasons for him to feel scared.

So...

 _Who's_ fear was that?

 _HERS._

he realized. IT was _hers_ \- not his. Her, the _thing_ invading his mind.

And as he was just about to form that thought, he felt something like a jolt, the same kind of jolt at the pit of your stomach you feel when you just realize someone is spying on you. Or even better... the kind of feeling you have when you are spying on someone and that someone just realizes you are observing them without permission.

The only problem was that neither this feeling belonged to him.

 _"You can hear me?"_

A muffled voice -his voice... but again not completely his- had just spoke to him with surprise, feeling foreign and distant yet somehow familiar. Had he heard that before? He couldn't remember...

 _BOOM!_

Thunder shook the surface.

The song reverberated through the water, pulled again his attention... wanted him to come, to join the choir and catch the lights above. It talked about the future, a meeting, promised wholeness. Peace and hope filled his heart as he believed every _single word_ they told him _._

 _"They're LYING"_

The voice again. Still muffled, but a bit clearer than before. No trace of surprise or shock coloured its tone anymore, only _hatred and anger._

 _Lying?_

He asked himself with sudden concern. And with that all the lights shifted again, going even further away and pulling behind even their song, even that strange voice that left him without an answer. There were clouds somewhere above his head now ... he couldn't see them, but he could surely feel their electric presence. he was in a dark place... and the atmosphere was different here. _Colder,_ more hostile, even its touched was different on his skin.

He wasn't in the water anymore, he realized.

Still, the song kept humming, triyng to soothe his heart, trying to brush away the pain. Yes... _pain._

He hadn't realized that before, but his body was aching. His electricity grew stronger and _heavier_ every second it pulsed through his cells. Something was really wrong with him and was making him weak, ill... unable to maintain control.

 _What's happening?_ He asked himself confused, a bit panicky, as the hum got stronger. "If you want to get better you have to call the lights", it kept telling him. The air stirred in response, piercing at his feverish skin, while the lights above the clouds suddenly started to feel more appealing. "they will make you feel better. Come to them, come to us" was the song's response.

Their reasoning was convincing enough... and he knew he had to call them as he was suggested to.

 _"No! Stay FOCUSED"_

That made him suddenly burst out of the music. The voice was so strong and near that everything else shifted in the background, so insistent taht even his electricity stopped in mid air, making him feel angry... and bothered, and even more aching. However, even if it hadn't brushed away his pain as the song had done, its intervention was like a gust of fresh oxygen for his confused brain. His surroundings got a lot clearer now: there was a window... stairs... and a distorted shape standing right in front of him.

 _"Right... forget the song. Focus onto her."_

 _Her who_? he asked himself

A name started to form in his mind, but it instantly slipped from his grasp as the song got even stronger, as if wanted all him for itself and couldn't bare sharing his attenion with someone else. And with its soothing hum... another jolt of pain shocked his body. Thousand needles mercilessly stabbing his skin and muscles.

He had to do as the song had just said... and fast. He couldn't bare to stay like this anymore...

 _"No! What you really need is to focus. Just Focus. Don't think about the pain, just look around you"_

 _Look... around?_

 _"Yes! Yes! Do it"_

His eyelids felt heavy, still he managed to get a glimpse of something - _someone- l_ ooming in the nothingness in front of him

 _《_ _Miles?》_

it was a familiar voice... and it sounded scared.

 _Miles?..._ was that...was that his name? He was so confused... so angry. His body felt like hell, he wanted so badly to release all the electricity... still something at the pit of his mind told him it was better not to. And it was driving him crazy. Why couldn't he think straight? Why was he suffering so much? and yet why was he still resisting when doing so was making him feel even worse?

The presence in his mind was trying to resolve its problem, esitantly touching his thoughts as if to test his reaction. It seemed unsure, wary... and _preoccupied_ too.

 _"You have to calm down, Miles"_ it said _insistently "That's not real. the anger, the-"_

 _"JUST STOP IT!"_ he interrupted angrily, feeling violated, confused... angry. He was just so angry and in pain he couldn't bare it anymore. Everything was just so umbereable. The song. that voice. his pain. It all spinned around him withoutlogic. The static crackling through his skin, the lights binuzzing in the air, those voices intruding in his mind...it was just too much!

《 _Miles you... you're scaring me》_ _._

the same familiar voice, the one that seemed real, the one that came from _outside_ his mind. The one he realized he wanted to protect,

 _Caitlyn._

he finally realized as his heart skipped a beat. And the the words that voice had said a while before repeated in his mind.

 _You'll hurt her._

No, he couldn't... of all people, he couldn't hurt Caitlyn.

《Stay... back》he managed to say. his voice came out shakier and lower than he had intended... and despite his newfound consciousness the pain was so unbearable he couldn't do anything but hope that what was about to happen wasn't going to hurt anybody.

A bright light dissipating all the remaining darkness was the last thing he remembered before the real darkness,where everything else simply faded away.

* * *

 **a.n:**

surprise! I kinda felt bad for making you wait so long... and I actually had a last second inspiration so... here's for you another little chapter!

hope you liked it though (and that you understood it at least a bit too... I wrote it in pieces so.. I don't really know how it came out xD)

Next (real) chapter synopsis is almost complete... so I hope it won't take me too much to post it on the site.

As always thanks for the patience ;)

see ya next time!


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